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A thermonuclear war, or a massive solar event where we lose all our computers worldwide simultaneously, or our survival concerns are more pressing than messing
by sph 2y ago
A thermonuclear war, or a massive solar event where we lose all our computers worldwide simultaneously, or our survival concerns are more pressing than messing about in the digital space.
Also, a major, gaping technological flaw in its design and security that cannot be fixed. The longer Bitcoin is around, the lower the chance of this being a possibility.
Failing that, a few reasons why Bitcoin will always have value > 0:
1. Decentralised, open-source software cannot be stopped. No amount of laws is going to stop people running a piece of software.
2. Legal tender has restrictions, and governments tend to restrict freedom over time. You cannot buy drugs with a credit card. Cash will soon be illegal. CBDC are the future. Crime, drugs and black market are businesses like any other, that need currency to trade. Given the totalitarian future of our governments, we will find more and more legitimate uses for Bitcoin, things that are legal today but not tomorrow.
3. In our future deglobalised, autarkic economies, with Internet-connected citizens that want to send money across borders, crypto is the only way unless you love paying fees. Also, sending money across frontlines is a major "business" (i.e. EU <-> Russia)
Now, any cryptocurrency can do any of the above, so the last, and most important point:
4. Bitcoin has the first mover advantage, and greater capitalisation. It's what everybody uses, so that legitimises it and makes it more secure than any alternative. No new cryptocurrency will ever be able to change this fact.
Disclaimer: I am a Bitcoin maximalist, and bullish about it for purely political reasons: Bitcoin is the only software antidote to totalitarianism, to pervasive surveillance and to any sort of economic border. Bitcoin, with all its faults, encapsulates the spirit of anarchism. Its usefulness is directly proportional to the greed and corruption of our governments. How anyone is still surprised it has only increased in value over the past ~20 years?
- enether 2y agoI agree. A fifth point I would add is that it's basically your best best at a global, portable, unconfiscatable diversifier of a portfolio. I think it is a braindead decision for every investment portfolio to have some small (miniscule?) allocation to it. Have you ever thought about what sort of flaw could not be fixed? I find it hard to imagine.